The 87th Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, during his tenure as head of the government of the Land of the Rising Sun, gained fame as a “lone wolf” and an eccentric. After his resignation, he disappeared from active politics for several years. However, in 2013, he returned, marked by a speech in which he presented to the public his radically changed position on the advisability of using nuclear energy in the Japanese Islands.
A family
Junichiro Koizumi (his political portrait is of great interest to those who are studying the influence of individuals on the course of the history of their country) comes from a well-known Japanese family. His maternal grandfather was the mayor of the city where he was born, and a member of parliament, and his father in the years 1964-1965 served as head of the national defense department, which, in essence, meant the leadership of the entire military sphere of the country.
early years
Junichiro Koizumi was born in the town of Yokosuke, located in Kanagawa Prefecture, on January 8, 1942.
He graduated from Yokosuki High School, and then entered Keio University, where he studied economics. At the same time, Junichiro Koizumi studied the art of playing the violin and achieved great success in this matter.
Later, the young man went to London, where he continued his education at London University College. He did not succeed in graduating from this educational institution, since three years later, in August 1969, he had to return to his homeland because of the death of his father and the need to take care of the family.
The beginning of a political career
In December 1969, Koizumi put forward his candidacy for the elections to the Lower House of Parliament, but was unable to get the right number of votes to represent the LDPJ (Liberal Democratic Party of Japan) there. Although the seat in parliament was often inherited in the Land of the Rising Sun, he was too young, and his father's associates were wary of the “jerk” who arrived from the UK.
In 1970, he became Secretary of Takeo Fukuda (then Minister of Finance). This position allowed him to establish contacts in the highest circles of the country and gain experience in the field of politics.
After 2 years in the general election, Junichiro Koizumi was elected representative of the lower house of the Japanese parliament from Kanagawa Prefecture. He became a member of the Fukuda faction of his party and was re-elected 10 times.
On the way to power
The further career of the young politician was simply brilliant, and he repeatedly held the posts of heads of the ministries of health, post and telecommunications, etc. However, the main peak, which was to become the crown of his career, remained unconquered for many years.
On April 24, 2001, Koizumi was elected chairman of the LDPJ. Initially, he was seen as an external candidate against incumbent Prime Minister Hashimoto, who ran for a second term. His opponents were also the charismatic and ambitious Taro Aso and the "old political wolf" Shizuka Kamei. In the 1st ballot of the party organizations of his prefecture, he managed to get 87% against 11%, and in the 2nd ballot held among members of parliament, 51% versus 40%.
Prime Minister of Japan
In the 2001 election, Junichiro Koizumi, whose biography you already knew in his youth, thanks to the results of the final vote, was able to fulfill his dream and occupy the highest post in the state.
Koizumi quickly realized that he was unlikely to win the battle with the old guard using old methods, and staked on the voter’s desire for change.
In particular, the politician said that he was going to fight for the transition to a system of direct elections of the country's leader by the whole people, and not by voting within the winning political party.
After the victory, Koizumi took a bold step. He deviated from the principle of dividing portfolios between representatives of his party and appointed to the key posts of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economics not politicians, but professionals and scientists.
Immediately, he had many opponents among the "associates." However, party members had to endure the tricks of their leader, since they understood that his removal would lead to the inevitable defeat of LDPJ in the next election.
Junichiro Koizumi: Reforms
In many ways, what this politician was doing as prime minister, there was a dialectical contradiction. In particular, it was hard not to notice that he often went ahead and changed the foundations on which the LDPJ authorities relied, which threatened to destroy it. At the same time, he could not do without it and was forced to use the organizational potential and authority of his party to carry out large-scale reforms, primarily in relation to the Japanese postal service and the privatization of high-speed roads. The transformations conceived by Koizumi should have led to a radical change in the country's monetary and financial system, and cutting budget expenditures should reduce the deficit and have a psychological effect on civil servants who are used to receiving cash allowances in a fixed amount regardless of the results of their work.
During his tenure in power, Koizumi managed to implement most of his plans. In particular, thanks to him, about a million residents of the Land of the Rising Sun got the opportunity to use state benefits.
Foreign policy
Koizumi also had big problems in foreign policy, as he had to decide whether or not to send soldiers to Iraq, where Japanese diplomats were killed. In addition, he, as a patriot, strongly advocated the return of the 4 South Kuril Islands and did not allow any compromises. At the same time, he understood that it was not advisable to go ahead with respect to our country, therefore, he adopted an action plan, which, he hoped, should bring relations with the Russian Federation to a level that would more successfully solve the existing territorial problem.
Junichiro Koizumi: personal life
The politician married in 1978, when he was already under 40. The bride - Kayeko Miyamoto - at that time was 21 years old. The couple met as a result of o-mai, which is a traditional Japanese practice of finding the second half. The wedding took place at Tokyo Prince Hotel, and about 2, 500 guests were invited to it, including then Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda. The celebration was quite magnificent, and the cake was a miniature copy of the building of the Japanese parliament.
The marriage lasted only 4 years and ended in divorce in 1982. The reason was Kaeko’s dissatisfaction with the spouse’s constant employment, and Junichiro Koizumi almost after the wedding realized that she did not correspond to his ideas about the politician’s wife.
After an unsuccessful first marriage, Koizumi never married. In one of his interviews, he stated that a divorce took away tens of times more energy from him than the marriage itself.
